BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The University of Toledo women's basketball team visited arch-rival Bowling Green on Saturday and came away with a hard-fought 71-67 road win.
 
Coming off their first MAC loss of the season last Wednesday, the Rockets (15-4, 9-1 MAC) bounced back to win Saturday's iteration of the Battle of I-75 at the Stroh Center. Toledo led wire-to-wire against the Falcons (9-8, 4-4 MAC), but saw a double-digit lead dwindle to just five points in the final minutes. The Rockets were able to hold on, though, and bring home a close win.
 
"Road wins are really hard to get, especially here," head coach Tricia Cullop said. "I'm proud of the way we played today. Coming off a tough game earlier this week, I kept telling our players to pick themselves back up and be ready to go for this game today. I knew with the rivalry and the emotions this game brings that we had to be ready. I was really proud of the way we started the game, I thought we came out and executed very well. It got a little too close there at the end, but I'm proud of our team. Those were two great teams out there today and this is a great rivalry."
 
Four players scored in double figures on Saturday, with junior Sophia Wiard leading the way with 20 points. Wiard was 6-of-10 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, and made 6-of-7 free throw attempts. Freshman Jessica Cook had a strong game, posting her third double-double of the year with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Sophomore Sammi Mikonowicz nearly had her second straight double-double, posting 10 points and nine rebounds, and junior Quinesha Lockett contributed 13 points.
 
As a team, UT connected on 26-of-60 shots (43.3 percent) and made 12-of-15 free throws. BGSU shot 38.3 percent from the field (23-for-60), but made just 3-of-19 three-point field goals. Toledo built a sizable early lead thanks to its 54.8 field goal percentage (17-for-31) in the first half.
 
Bowling Green was led by Amy Velasco and her game-high 21 points. Kadie Hempfling (13 points) and Jocelyn Tate (10 points) both cracked double figures as well.
 
The Battle of I-75 returns to Savage Arena on Saturday, Feb. 12.
 
Toledo's next game is a home contest against Miami on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 7:00 p.m.
 
1^st Quarter

• Toledo took an early 11-3 lead to start the game, making five of its first seven shots while Bowling Green opened the day just 1-of-7 from the floor.
• The lead grew to 16-3 after a pair of free throws from Wiard and a three-pointer from senior Jayda Jansen, giving the Rockets a 13-point advantage with 4:25 to go in the quarter.
• The Falcons cut their deficit to single digits at the buzzer on a basket by Sophie Dziekan, putting the score at 21-13 in favor of UT at the end of the first quarter.
• Cook had a productive first frame, scoring four points while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out a couple assists.

 
2^nd Quarter

• Mikonowicz opened the scoring in the second quarter with a three-pointer to push Toledo's lead to 24-13.
• Junior Hannah Noveroske and Lockett carried the Rockets' offensive production for the next several minutes, doing their part to keep a comfortable cushion for the Midnight Blue and Gold.
• Toledo found its three-point stroke near the end of the first half and was able to grow its lead to a game-high 14 points, 43-29, in the waning moments of the second quarter. Wiard, sophomore Khera Goss, and junior Soleil Barnes knocked down three straight treys, with Barnes' shot capping a 9-3 UT run at the end of the half.
• The Rockets would take a 43-31 lead into halftime.

 
3^rd Quarter

• The Toledo lead stayed in double-digits for nearly the entire third quarter.
• Bowling Green's Zoe Miller provided a spark off the bench, scoring nine points in the third period alone.
• Miller's final basket of the quarter came with 13 seconds to go and put UT's lead back into single digits, 55-46, through 30 minutes of play.

 
4^th Quarter

• Cook started the fourth quarter off well, scoring Toledo's first three baskets to help bring the lead back to 12 points, 61-49, with 8:03 to play in the game.
• After a basket from Wiard, Bowling Green went on a 9-0 run to trim Toledo's lead to five points, 65-60, with 2:30 remaining.
• Wiard's clutch bucket at the 1:46 mark put the team back up by seven, 67-60, and Lockett knocked down both of her free throws 25 second later to give the Rockets a 69-60 advantage.
• BGSU's Velasco and Tate traded baskets to bring the Rockets' lead back down to five points, 69-64, with just 36 seconds left.
• Bowling Green forced a couple late turnovers to stay alive, but would not complete its comeback. Toledo held on to win, 71-67, to snap a two-game losing skid in the Battle of I-75.